Very Revd Vivienne Faull announced as the next Bishop of Bristol

Her Majesty the Queen has appointed the Very Revd Vivienne Faull, currently Dean of York, as the 57th Bishop of Bristol.

Speaking at the Barton Hill Settlement in Bristol following the announcement, Viv said: “This is where my family comes from, and so coming here feels like I am returning home. It was 24 years ago that Bristol was the first diocese to ordain women as priests, and I want the Diocese to continue to show that pioneering courage. I look forward to leading a church that shows the love of Christ to everyone, whoever they are.”

Following a visit to the homeless drop-in at St Luke’s Church, Barton Hill in inner city Bristol, the Bishop Designate is spending the day at a village church in Wiltshire, a Church School in Chippenham, and the newly announced Pattern Church in Swindon. She will end her day here at the mother Church of the Diocese, Bristol Cathedral.

Viv Faull was installed as the Dean of York in December 2012. Brought up in a village on the Wirral, she studied at The Queen’s School, Chester and Saint Hilda’s College, Oxford. After teaching with the Church Mission Society in North India and youth work at Shrewsbury House, Everton, she trained for ministry at Saint John’s College, Nottingham and Nottingham University. She served as a Deaconess at Saint Matthew and Saint James, Mossley Hill in the Diocese of Liverpool from 1982 to 1985, moving to become Chaplain, later Fellow, of Clare College, Cambridge, being made Deacon in the Diocese of Ely in 1987. She began cathedral ministry in 1990 as Chaplain at Gloucester Cathedral where she married Michael, and where she was ordained priest in 1994. In 1994 she moved to become Canon Pastor, and later Vice Provost, at Coventry Cathedral. Viv became the first woman to lead a Church of England Cathedral as Provost and then Dean of Leicester in 2000. In that role, she was incumbent of St Martin, Leicester, a city centre parish with significant diversity and areas of deprivation. Until her move to York, Vivienne was a member of the General Synod representing Deans of cathedrals and was on the panel of Chairs of Synod. In 2009 she was elected Chairman of the Association of English Cathedrals (the cathedrals’ representative body) and is serving her second term on the English Anglican Roman Catholic committee for ecumenical conversations. She is the Chair of the Deans’ Conference and was elected as one of the female representatives in the House of Bishops in 2013. Viv is married to Michael, a hospital consultant.

The Archbishop of York, the Most Revd John Sentamu, said: “I rejoice with the Diocese of Bristol that Her Majesty the Queen has accepted the nomination of the Dean of York, the Very Revd Vivienne Faull, to be the 57th Bishop of Bristol. Viv leads by following Jesus’ way with insight and oversight, with a readiness to be led as well as to lead. She has been a great Dean for York, taking risks for the Kingdom of God. She has made the Minster a great home of hospitality, worship and friendliness. Viv will leave us with our prayers and love, and I am sure she knows that she will be greatly missed.”

Rt Revd Dr Lee Rayfield, Bishop of Swindon, also welcomed the announcement. He said: “Having begun to get to know her since her appointment, I am seeing many of the qualities and experience she will bring to this next season of Episcopal ministry in our Diocese. As the next Bishop of Bristol, Viv will help us to build on what is and has been fruitful while enabling us to make progress in areas where fresh approaches are needed.”

The Dean of Bristol, the Very Revd Dr David Hoyle, said "The Dean and Chapter of Bristol Cathedral are delighted that Viv Faull has been appointed as the next Bishop of Bristol. We welcome her as someone who knows our city, who understands the life and ministry of cathedrals, and who has a deep and worked commitment to the kind of conversation that faces difficulty squarely, but promotes a generous unity."

Viv will be consecrated Bishop at a service at St Paul’s Cathedral on 3 July and installed as Bishop of Bristol at Bristol Cathedral in the autumn.